What is something that people are obsessed with but you just don’t get the point of?Oh, so many, many things, and I’m to pick one? Sexist shoulder shame in school dress codes. I have never understood this. I once went to pick Sassy up from kindergarten and she was wearing her jacket outside, cause of shoulder shame, in kindergarten. It was over 100 degrees and her face was all red. Her teacher told me no sleeveless shirts allowed. I hadn’t had this experience with my older two, so I guess shoulder shaming revived around 2008. The shoulders of females, even at age five, are so incredibly sexy and distracting to their male classmates, they shan’t be seen until university. Apparently.

What quirky things do people do where you are from?I have no idea. Say Hoosier on a regular basis? Explain that Indianapolis is a proper city? Vote against our own interests?

What are some things you wish you could unlearn?Damn these questions are big today. Years ago, MIL withheld sharing something, so that I could be free of the burden of knowing, and I wish more people offered that gift. Blissfully ignorant… A nice way to be at times. Not a frequent option for empaths.

Who is someone that you miss having in your life?Having people in my life, and having them in close proximity — different. I live far from a lot of people I love. No one is conveniently located for my pleasure. Heh. I am happy for people in their happiness, but I can bitch up one side and down another over how unhappy it makes me at times. The road goes both ways and there are all these freakin traffic circles and orange barrels and toll roads and SOMETIMES MOUNTAINS to get to those I love.
Am I having a three-generation pancake breakfast today? No. But I remember them fondly.
I talked to my dad yesterday and when we hung up, he told me he was gonna go sit in the heat and watch golf, and I told him I was gonna stay in the A-C and be happy I don’t live in Florida!
I text with my father briefly. I’m glad he was well enough to look at his phone and send some emojis, and I still had him for another Father’s Day — but there is, and has been before, the feeling that I may never hear his voice again. He lives 1800 miles away and talking to him, laughing with him, really cutting up with him on the phone is something I miss terribly.
I remember when Drew was ubiquitous, when True and I could spend entire days together, when HME lived with me, or at least down the hall, when Beauty Queen lived next door, when Cali Girl lived across the street. We must always appreciate the characters in the chapters we share, because nothing lasts forever.

Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?Y’all, The Mister is done with his undergraduate work! This is his accomplishment, yes, but my relief. For the last four years he has, we have, sacrificed so much TIME. Did you ever work full-time while going to school full-time while taking care of a home and a family? I worked 30+ hours on weekends alone, but I was a young, single, childless person, so I am not only impressed, but incredibly proud. AND RELIEVED. There are no fonts big or bright enough to properly emphasize the way I feel right now, because it’s too life-changing.

I am grateful for the healing power of anything and everything that’s made me feel better this weekend — my doting husband and cuddly family included.

i am a cat bathtub.

you no cook. you lie here and read.

I keep writing that the week is largely unscheduled and how I look forward to that, but I need to stop lying to us all and write that while it seeeeeems as though there is nothing going on until Friday, in reality, some stuff will prolly come up.
I’m looking forward to whatever night I come home and put goat cheese pizza in the oven and watch television like a zombie, and Dammit! There’d better be one!

This week is wrenching, but necessary. I’m rewriting my blurb (just finished) and ads (working on it), instead of spending my time advancing Book 2, Pride’s Children: NETHERWORLD. For a long time I raged against the necessary learning – and got squat from the Universe.

Indies have to do everything – stop complaining and get to work. I AM a special snowflake, but by the time the world realizes this, it will be far too late. So I pretend to be a normal unmelted plastic snowflake, slowly as I do everything. I asked myself if I’d rather be obscure, and the answer was ‘NO!’ – because people who are in the dark only make a mark on the world by accident.

Other than that, the house still needs dejunking so we can sell it, the garden has weeds (ditto), and the stupid cardiac rehab is necessary but takes time and energy (and may eventually result in more, and, of course, staying alive).

I love the bit about being a real snowflake but pretending to be a common plastic one. ❤ Good luck with your projects!
I need to weed my garden, but not just yet, k?
You could never not work. I know this because I know myself. Always something to learn and do — goes with staying alive! x

45 minutes is a good weeding session if you don’t do it frequently, and we have extensive perennials beds (for the bees and hummingbirds) which require some attention. I used to do it all myself, but sitting on the ground is getting difficult – and I always stay too long.

Congrats to your husband! What an accomplishment. When I got my MPH degree last decade, it felt almost more of an accomplishment than getting my medical degree because I did it while I had a family and a job. You really learn how to time manage well. Hopefully you guys will be able to enjoy a nice vacation to celebrate.

LOL, After he came in to the kitchen and did his victory dance, we woo-hooed him 😀 It’s a bigger deal, I think, to do what he (and you) did than to do what is ‘normal’ or ‘customary’!
I’ve had a lot of friends who tried to go back to school when their kids were small, and I’d be like, “If you can’t eat your food while it’s still hot, it’s not a good time.” 😉

Schools and dress codes – the last bastion of true organized stupidity. I love “Vote against our own interests?” but I’m afraid it’s not terribly unique. I love cat siting on person sitting on person – sweet

Cats and beds are what I am grateful for, although we’re in another cat crisis right now :(. Congrats to hubby on his accomplishment! Yay! And to you, too. That shoulder shame was something I first encountered when we went to Italy and were going into the churches. My 11 year old daughter (at the time) had to wear something of mine over her shoulders. All she had were summer clothes . . . .

I feel sorry for myself since cat crisis is happening on day of 118 degree weather. I was really shocked about the shoulder thing in Italy. I guess I understand that it is a religious thing, but some people go to church in shorts.

Yeah, I admit I have said something to students about their shoulders (high school, not elementary) because I could see the bra, but you’re absolutely right, shoulders should not be shamed. Congratulations to the Mister.

This was a “sign” to me among many other signs that I have to follow my heart more than the rules.
I do admit, there have been times when my human touched my shoulders and…. well, let’s not discuss that.

I tuned into a new yoga routine today. One of the stretches involved imagining kisses on the neck…. she said, “It’s getting steamy in here”. I thought, I might be able to move easier if I wasn’t alone. 🤔

I wear sleeveless shirts and tell myself I have muscles. Who cares if anyone else knows muscles are best covered by flab? My arms are strong and so are yours. Take off your sleeves and show off your SEXY shoulders. 😎

1. It’s Hell. I don’t get it. Such a focus for so many.
2. Folks from the town where I grew up (PA) say “hay-nah?” (meaning isn’t it?) and “yiz” (meaning youz, you all, or y’all).
3. Among my fav song lyrics, “I wish I didn’t know now, what I didn’t know then.”
4. It’s a long list, but mostly, I miss “Billy the Kid” (youthful me). (nuther song)
5. I am glad I survived last week and killed none, hopping the same for this week.

You’re right … this was a very heavy bunch of questions today. You got me at the line “We must always appreciate the characters in the chapters we share, because nothing lasts forever”. I needed reminding of this because I’ve spent the last couple of weeks in a deep, dark funk over my nearest sibling who is moving away. I forgot the truth that we must appreciate *now* because it doesn’t last.

Congrats to The Mister on his achievement. I have no idea how anyone balances the demands of work, family, and school. There should be a special kind of double major for that kind of achievement!!

I can’t think of anything I would want to unlearn. There are some things that saddened me when I learned them but I don’t think I would want to give them back. I like the idea of multi generational meals. I look forward to the day they become 4 generations.

Congratulations to the Mister! … I don’t know the dress codes around here, since my girls are all grown up, but no sleeves on little kids just doesn’t seem right. My daughter was once sent home to change because she had on a long vest. It was sleeveless, but everything else was covered up. This was back in the early 90s, I think.

I had a good laugh over the bare shoulder thing! We don’t have that problem here – all the kids wear the same thing – school uniform! How weird is that!
I agree that if you expect kids to have a dress code then teachers should have on too!